A “digital asset” is a data object that carries marketable information content. Thus, the term covers various multimedia files, including image files, audio files (e.g., music), audio-video files and the like. The term also may cover text files or data files, such as product reports, analyses, recommendations, etc. Digital assets may be sold among various participants in a market. The assets typically are sold in contracts that limit ways in which a purchasing party may use the digital asset.
Digital asset management systems, as their name implies, are computer systems that permit asset owners to manage their assets. As another example, a digital asset management system may permit consumer product manufacturers (who manufacture an array of products) to manage their retailers' or advertisers' use of product images throughout advertisements and other commercial notices regarding the products themselves.
In known digital asset management systems, consumers' user experiences in browsing through and retrieving digital assets is awkward and non-intuitive. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a digital asset management system that is easy to use.
Moreover, as noted earlier, digital assets may be marketed and sold. The effectiveness of communication networks such as the Internet as a marketing venue for various products and services has been recognized. In view of this, it would be advantageous to integrate a digital asset management system with a network sales system.